The Principal of Drowning
by ancient-relic
Summary: It was like fighting to keep your head above water; the undertow threatening to drag you down, the waves beating against you relentlessly. It's the principal of drowning; the sweet temptation of giving in, the release of letting the water carry you away.
1. against the tide

**A/N:** This has been in the works for a long time coming. It's a three-piece short story, inspired by where the Kagome/Kisame could have gone in Piano Man. If you don't know what I'm talking about, maybe you should go check it out! If you do know what I'm talking about, then I hope you'll enjoy this.

I'm excited, because spring is coming. This story will have all my attention until it's completed.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, I don't own InuYasha.

* * *

**the principal of drowning**

**i – against the tide**

**by ancient relic**

-::-

It was a dark and stormy night.

Well actually…

It wasn't quite night, so it wasn't dark out… and it wasn't stormy _per say_, it was more… foggy. The air was thick with a sound-choking fog that he had created.

Because what Itachi wanted, Itachi got. End of story.

Now, as an assassin-for-hire, he could understand the concept of 'cover' and thereby fog; and just why it was useful, and just what it was useful for. Yet one lingering factor was driving him crazy… they were currently on an _espionage_ mission. Espionage, as in _spying._ And they were wearing disguises to boot.

Then of course, there was the cherry on top of all the other bullshit mission parameters – they were spying on a civilian.

"Our intel _claims_ she is a civilian," Itachi corrected offhandedly, as if reading his mind. "But I have reason to believe that there is more to this woman than has been previously assumed."

With that, Itachi turned away and made to move into the sleepy little town before them, confident in his assessment of the situation. Having no choice but to follow, he trailed slowly after his partner, a feeling of dread unfurlingi n his stomach as if to remind him of the anagram _assume_ spelt.

* * *

"Why won't you people just leave me alone?"

Every word was punctuated with a fierce, downward strike that reverberated all the way through Samehada and up his arms to his shoulders. This girl… this petit, frail-looking girl was so skilled with her blade that it had him on the defensive. Kisame ducked a swipe that could have severed his head from his neck and rolled to parry a low hit to his knees.

Her motions were so quick and precise that he hadn't even had the time to stop and use a jutsu to his advantage. The moment the thought occurred to him however, he realized that he'd been restricted to fighting her in close combat. Kisame immediately pushed on the offensive, swinging down with all his might and sending her small form skidding backwards. Hopping away, he watched her rise to her feet, dust off her legs, and crack her neck.

"It won't work," she called as he began flipping through hand signs. "Do you think you're the first to come after me? You aren't. Ninja have come for me before – and as you can see, _I'm still here._"

It made logical sense—her argument—it really did. He could tell she was more than tough enough to take care of herself. That being said, she'd likely never fought someone of his calibre… nor Itachi's.

Spitting several water bullets at the girl, Kisame realized that it still remained to be a one-on-one fight. He didn't have another moment to dwell on the thought, let alone search for his partner in the surrounding foliage, because the girl and her sword began doing something peculiar. A wind current began forming around her body, whipping her hair and short kimono into the air. Yellow light began to form around her, and the sword began to glow with the same light as his bullets approached her and then suddenly, time seemed to slow down and stop.

"_Bakaryuuha!"_ was her battle cry, and she swung her sword against his attack with an explosion of light and wind.

Streaking beams of yellow light mixed in with the wind to create cyclones twisting at impossible speeds, and they spun towards his attack and easily overtook it. As the two attacks collided, they released a giant shockwave of raw chakra that splintered the closest trees that had remained standing after the initial blows had been traded.

As the wave of the girls chakra washed over him, the sheer strength behind it left him staggering. Less than 30 minutes ago, the woman before him had been nothing more than a civilian out for the evening at a bar. Now she stood before him, chest heaving, earth-stained with leaves tangled in her hair as a chakra-wielding swords master, the likes of which he'd never seen before.

His water bullets rebounded with the shockwave, and propelled by the cyclones they came flying back at him with twice the speed he'd shot them with. Luckily there was no impact, as a thick wall of earth rose before him, effectively shielding him from the rebound.

"Itachi!" Kisame yelled. "What took you so long?"

The wall before him finally crumbled and dispersed, and his eyes fell upon his partner who was hefting the girl, unconscious, over his shoulder.

"I was evaluating her fighting style. She is exceptionally efficient in close range combat – perhaps as efficient as any non-ninja could be."

"I noticed," he replied scathingly, but as usual, his partner remained unruffled by his tone.

"I tried trapping her with Tsukiyomi," Itachi continued, "It was ineffective. Her mental barriers are too strong for me to breach."

"Seriously? Is that even possible?"

"And I cannot touch her sword."

They both looked down at the rusty blade lying on the ground curiously—simultaneously. Bending down to grasp the hilt, he was surprised to be electrocuted with a low volt of power humming from the blade. He promptly withdrew his hand.

"What the—" his words trailed off as both the blade and the girl glowed a brilliant yellow, and the blade disappeared.

"Now that that particular issue has been taken care of, what shall we do now?" he nodded at the form of the girl dangling over his partner's shoulder.

"We proceed to a secure location for interrogation. There are many questions that need to be asked, it seems."

* * *

"I will ask you again. What is your name?" Itachi said slowly, his voice carefully neutral.

"My name is Kagome Higurashi." The girl said, glaring at his partner as best as she could from her position against the tree she was bound to.

"That is impossible. Why you feel the need to spout such obvious lies is a mystery—"

"Goddamn it, it isn't a lie!" Kagome shrieked. "Why would I lie so obviously? And better yet, what reason would I have to lie about my name? I think there are better questions to be asked and answered here." She snorted.

Kisame studied her carefully, her bright blue eyes flashing with anger, her chest heaving through the ropes she was bound with. Her sword was still nowhere to be found, but he figured that Itachi would get there in due time. All he had to do was mind the fire and cook their dinner, and he did so willingly. This girl, Kagome, was a handful.

"For one, what do you people want from me? And why did you feel the need to kidnap me instead of discuss it with me like a rational human being?"

"Cease your incessant shrieking." Itachi said disdainfully. "Your volume is unnecessary. You seem familiar with the interrogation process, so you should understand the concept that it is I who will be asking questions, and it is you who will be providing me with the answers."

"I will _provide_ you with _no answers_," Kagome spat, mocking Itachi's lilting tone, "until you _answer_ _mine._"

Itachi stared Kagome dead in the face, his own expression devoid of everything but disdain. Kagome met his stare angrily, and for a few minutes, there was a tense silence in the clearing. In that time, Itachi seemed to come to some sort of understanding, because a moment later, he blinked and simply said,

"Very well."

He walked over to the tree Kagome was tied to, and deftly cut her bonds. Kagome stilled in surprise, allowing the ropes to slither and pool around her feet before she made any motion to flee. However, her shock had cost her, and Itachi had already secured her wrists and ankles before she had realized.

"Sit. I will speak, you will listen, and when I am done, you will answer my questions." He ordered, pointing at a log beside the fire.

"Or what?" Kagome huffed, narrowing her eyes at his partner.

"Do not test my patience further, girl." Itachi said solemnly, giving her a push towards the log.

It was mildly entertaining to watch her struggle towards the log with both her hands and feet bound, and both he and Itachi watched with satisfaction as they ate their fish.

"Dinner and a show," Kisame commented snidely; not expecting a response from his partner, but merely a reaction from the girl.

"Shut your trap, fish-face." She snapped, righting herself on the log and blowing her bangs out of her face with a puff of air.

"Shut yours, pipsueak." Kisame laughed. "I'm not the one tied up, being held hostage."

"Oh yeah? Well your mom didn't seem to mind it too much last night."

Her comment took a moment to register, but when it did, his blood almost immediately began to boil.

"Why you little—"

"You heard me," she snorted, giving him a dirty look.

"That is quite enough," Itachi intoned, tossing the stick his fish had been roasted on into the fire. "I will now provide you with some of your _answers_, and you will remain silent and _listen_."

Kagome huffed, glared at the both of them, but fell warily silent, her attention focused on Itachi. Itachi allowed the silence to stretch on as he simply stared into the glowing embers around the fringes of the flames.

"I say it is impossible for your name to be Kagome Higurashi," Itachi began solemnly, "because it is. The Higurashi clan was wiped out almost six years ago. There were no survivors from the massacre."

"There was a massacre…?" confusion coloured her features.

"The Higurashi clan had a series of shrines north of Waterfall. They had lived peacefully there for centuries, until they had harboured a fugitive ninja from Mist. Even though they remained untroubled for sometime, eventually the price on the nin's head brought fighting to the shrines, and head hunters searching for the missing nin."

"Why haven't I heard of this?"

Itachi turned his stare to his partner, and looked on in silence for a long while.

"You were not privy to this mission. It is understandable why you would not know these details."

"That means that you were…" Kagome spoke up. "You were one of the ninja sent for the runaway's head, weren't you?"

"Correct. It was one of my first missions as a member of the Akatsuki. When I arrived to take out the target, he had already destroyed the shrine. He was locked in battle with a survivor from the shrine. Her name was Kagome Higurashi."

"What?" a tendril of dread curled down Kagome's spine.

"She was a priestess. She fought him with bows and arrows that glowed like pearls in the sun. However, her long range fighting techniques proved to be useless when he got close to her, and she fell with an abdominal wound."

"Do you – was it… here?" Kagome pointed at her side, where the Jewel had emerged from her body so long ago.

"Yes," Itachi seemed surprised. "I killed the rogue when he was knelt over the woman. He seemed sad to have her blood on his hands, and did not fight back. When I left, the priestess wasn't yet dead, but was doomed to become so. The wound was fatal."

"So you left her there to die?" Kagome said, both shocked and angry.

"I am no healer." Itachi said simply. "It is not my duty to save lives, only take them. This is why you cannot be her; she died."

"You have no proof she—I actually died. How can you say I'm lying?" Kagome retorted.

"I do not sense the same power, you do not share the same visual, physical characteristics. It is without doubt that you are a different person. Perhaps if someone lesser saw you, they might believe your lie. I, however, do not. My eyes do not lie."

Immediately, Kagome had realized whoever Itachi had been speaking about was likely a reincarnation, or another form of her that had once lived in this world. Now, judging by his physical description, she wondered if it was Kikyo he spoke of. Kagome considered playing up the idea of reincarnation, or even amnesia, but finally decided that it would be best to let them draw their own conclusions.

He had remained silent through Itachi's brief history lesson, but now looked to the girl to gauge her reaction. She seemed lost in thought; her eyebrows furrowed and staring off into space. As if she had sensed his eyes on her, she looked straight at him.

"Well that's all fine and dandy." She said with a grin. "I've never lived north of Waterfall, and I've never seen either of your ugly mugs before now. My name is Kagome Higurashi. And you can ask me that question as many times as you'd like, but my answer won't change."

"Hnn. Very well." Itachi rose. "You can consider yourself our hostage until further notice. You will be travelling with us until further notice. Do not try to escape, or you will suffer the consequences."

"Pack up camp. We will leave in an hour," Itachi said, gesturing to where he sat. "Keep an eye on the girl. I will be back."

"What—" his question fell on deaf ears however, as his partner had already disappeared.

"Clean up camp," Kagome mocked. "Watch the girl. We leave in an hoooour." She snorted. "Sounds like you're more of his slave than his partner."

"Watch it." He snarled, baring his teeth in her general direction. "It will be easier for me to keep track of you when you're unconscious."

"Do it. I dare you," Kagome taunted.

"Don't test my patience. I don't have nearly as much as my partner does." Kisame responded, and then set about erasing their little campsite from existence.

* * *

"Itachi." Kagome called, tugging her wrists, pulling on the rope that Itachi led her by. "Itachi," she repeated.

Itachi steadfastly ignored her. Kagome snorted.

"Itachi,"

As he watched Kagome irritate his partner, Kisame thought back to the night prior when Kagome had tried to escape. She'd successfully escaped her bindings, but didn't make it out of the ring of firelight before Itachi was upon her.

"I was testing your ability for stealth and your tenacity and drive to escape." Itachi had said by means of explanation.

He snorted.

Now Itachi was leading her around by the wrist like some kind of farm animal, and Kagome wasn't pleased.

"Itachi."

"Itachi."

"Itachiiiiiiiiii."

"Ita—oof"

Kagome hadn't been paying attention as she did her best to annoy her captors. She'd been focused on twisting one wrist around far enough to reach the knot that secured her wrists, and Itachi had simply stopped walking.

"You will cease this repetition of my name." Itachi told her stonily. "Or I will silence you in the most unpleasant of manners."

Kagome sneered at Kisame briefly when he laughed out loud. He could imagine several rather painful ways Itachi had used in the past to silence others. It was unfortunate that they couldn't kill her.

"I'm not going to get far on foot from you guys. This is killing my wrists and ruining my back and my posture. I'll walk with you guys and not cause you trouble, I promise. Tie me up at night if you have to, I just can't stand this anymore." Kagome held her wrists up to Itachi pleadingly, although her face didn't change much.

"You have given me no reason as to why that is plausible."

"I will answer some more of you questions." Kagome offered bluntly.

Kisame reigned in his surprise, searching his partner's face for any sign of his intention. Finding nothing, he turned his attention back to Kagome, who held her arms up in the same pleading gesture. Itachi blinked twice, and turned his back to Kagome's form.

Kagome let her arms fall and her shoulders slump. As her arms fell, however, the separated as the rope slithered off her arms and they feel free to her sides. Satisfied, she rolled her head, popped her shoulders, and twisted her back. After half a dozen satisfying cracks, she simply beamed at Itachi and said,

"Thanks."

Kisame snorted again. If he didn't know any better, he'd think Itachi was going soft.

Itachi immediately began walking again, and Kagome turned her nose up at Kisame before sauntering off after his partner. She kept a steady pace beside him, her arms swinging freely, making the sides of her short kimono flap.

Kisame took a long moment to study her as he walked sedately behind his partner and their _hostage._ She was wearing a short summer kimono, and though the colours seemed faded with age, it was by no means ratty. It was pastel and light, probably meant for ease of movement.

A kimono didn't seem like something a swordsman would be found wearing, however, which mildly confused him. Her legs were long and lithe and lightly muscled, and she wore no armour whatsoever. She wore ankle-high, dare he say it, _dainty_ boots, and her long dark hair fell in loose waves to the base of her simple obi.

What kind of person was she? She looked like nothing more than a civilian, but her proficiency with a blade proved otherwise. The way she held herself and the way she moved spoke of training, and the way she spoke told him that she'd grown up in a well off family—she was both well spoken and well educated.

"Stop staring at my butt, fish-face. Eyes forward." She tossed over her shoulder, giving him a clever smirk.

"Like there's anything there to stare at, you shrimp." Kisame shot back, but still he looked away from her, surprised to have even been caught looking.

* * *

"Hey, Itachi." Kagome spoke up, as they sat around a smile fire.

Itachi didn't respond, but looked up from the flame to meet her questioning stare as a response.

"Don't you want to ask me some questions?" she asked, picking at the grass around her ankles. "You haven't tied me up again, and I did promise to answer some more questions"

"Are you a trustworthy person, Kagome?" Itachi questioned solemnly, his blank face at odds with his grave tone.

"What kind of question is that?" Kagome wrinkled her nose, and stared into the trees behind Itachi, unable to meet his stare.

After a long, borderline uncomfortable silence, Kagome sighed, and looked back to Itachi, who sill stared at her, unblinkingly. Kagome gave him a wan smile.

"I don't go back on my word." She said breathily, as she let out a sigh. "I never break a promise that I make, no matter whom it's to. Obviously, I wouldn't promise to do something completely stupid, but if it's one thing that I've ever learned over my lifetime, it's the value of honesty and promises. I take them very seriously."

"Make a _promise_ then." Itachi's voice morphed into a mocking sneer as he said the word promise. "That you will answer my questions when I ask them of you."

"I—"

Kagome paused to weigh her options. She currently did not possess the power to free herself from her captors. Itachi's ability was a mystery. He did try to overwhelm her mind, but she was not worried about him attempting that again. Her mental barriers were more than strong enough to keep anyone she came across in these lands out. Kisame was more than skilled with a sword, and she suspected that there was more to both him and his sword that she'd seen so far. Together, they were a formidable pair, and she was outnumbered. That alone was enough to stop her from trying to flee, certainly not with so many unknowns in the equation. As long as they were powerful enough to keep her subdued, then she would follow them willingly enough. However, as soon as she found a weakness between them, she would exploit it, and she would escape. There were very few who had been able to hold on to her as long as they had already, and Kagome knew it wouldn't last.

"As long as you can overpower me, I will answer your questions to the best of my ability." Kagome said slowly. "If you show me any weakness, I will exploit it and I owe you nothing."

Itachi's widened minutely in surprise at her answer, not having expected such a thoughtful response.

"That is acceptable." He replied. "Since there is no weakness for you to exploit."

"Is that a challenge?" Kagome's eyes glittered with mischief, a grin stretching across her face.

"It's fact, you shrimp." Kisame replied. "There is no weakness between the two of us that you will ever find."

"We'll see about that," Kagome smiled sweetly at him, and a tendril of uncertainty made itself known at the back of his head. Scoffing, Kisame looked back to the fire.

_Why is it so uncomfortable to meet her eyes?_

"Well, with business all out of the way, I have a request to make." Kagome chirped, turning her attention back to Itachi. "I don't know where we are, or where we're going, but it'd be nice if we could grab my travelling stuff; it would make all our lives much easier than it is now."

Itachi merely raised an eyebrow in question.

"I left it in a town just north of where you found me, I'd been in that little town healing the head of the village."

"We need nothing else to slow us down." Itachi said dismissively.

"Oh come on, it's one bag that I carry on my back." Kagome scoffed. "It won't slow us down, it's just my travelling essentials. I'm no ninja, I need a few things to get by."

Itachi didn't seem interested in agreement, so Kagome decided to sweeten the deal.

"I'll cook you guys dinner every night," she offered. "I roast a mean rabbit."

Kisame couldn't help but perk up at the thought of no longer having to cook fish, and eating something more substantial that he didn't have to cook. Itachi always stole the bigger fish, and he always burnt it so it tasted like he was munching on fishbone.

He turned to his partner, who seemed to catch his interested glance without even meeting his gaze. Turning back to Kagome, Itachi gave her an undecipherable stare for a long moment before speaking.

"We are less than half a day's travel from the town of which you speak. Tomorrow, we will retrieve your belongings, and you will be satisfied. You will request nothing else of me. Do not forget your place, you are a hostage, not a travelling companion or an equal." He said stonily, and rose from his spot beside the fire.

"Kisame, keep an eye on her. I will be back." He ordered, and disappeared into the shadows of the night.

Kagome stared at the spot where he disappeared for a long moment, before a wide smile split her face.

"Yessssss!" she laughed to herself, stretching backwards on the grass, completely ignoring Kisame, who was steaming at being left to babysit yet again. "This could be much worse."

"You bet it could, shrimp." Kisame let out a dark chuckle.

"Shut your yap, fish-face." Kagome waved her hand in dismissal at Kisame without looking at him. "I'm not going to let you take this victory away from me."

Kisame growled. Kagome lifted one leg up, crossing it over the other, and bounced her foot.

"You're just jealous that I've already wrangled more out of your partner than you have in all the years you've worked with him."

"Hardly," Kisame laughed. "Itachi and I have an… understanding of sorts."

"Sure," Kagome snorted. "Whatever you want to call it. You should really consider approaching him with a different method if you want to get it in."

"Get it—just _what_ are you trying to imply?" Kisame felt his face flush despite himself.

"You know what I said," Kagome snickered. "Envy is a nasty sonnuvabitch, you should be careful. With your lovely complexion, I hardly doubt green would do you any justice."

"Why you self-righteous, troublemaking, loud-mouth piece of sh—" Kisame was on his feet, his voice raising with every word. A cool hand on his shoulder silenced him immediately.

"Kisame. I suggest you ignore her attempts to rile you." Itachi said quietly. Kagome just chuckled.

Fuming with anger and embarrassment, Kisame sat down, returning to his spot by the fire, plotting Kagome's demise.

* * *

The next morning, Kagome was the first to rise. The sky was still speckled with stars, the East tree line just beginning to glow with sunlight. Itachi was nowhere to be seen, and Kisame snored softly by the glowing embers of the fire.

Kagome closed her eyes and sent a wave of her power out into the forest, searching for any hint of Itachi's aura. It tingled a little ways off to the west, but it did not move, and he didn't seem to sense her as she searched for him, so she shrugged and knelt to the forest floor. Focusing her energy into the hand, she placed it amongst the roots of the nearest tree, and traveled through it's roots into the earth, searching for the nearest water source.

Kagome's mind almost writhed in the pure, earth energy, and she felt her spirits soar with the life of the tree before her. Trees carried a natural sentience, and Kagome was grateful every time she delved into the earth's energy, because the trees gave off such a warm, welcoming and wise energy that she found comforting beyond no other. Once the tree and its roots had pointed her towards the little creek that flowed nearby, Kagome filled the tree with her energy in thanks and withdrew from it. The branches above her creaked and groaned as her power thrummed through the tree, waving to her in the morning breeze.

"Thank you," she whispered, patting the trunk. Glancing to confirm that Kisame was still asleep, Kagome set off in the direction of the creek, which was halfway between where she'd last sensed Itachi and where they'd made camp the night before.

The water of the creek tricked merrily, and Kagome heard it before she saw it. Wide rocks covered in moss lined the little creek, and she judged that at one point, the water must have been much higher; perhaps a river. The water was crisp and clean, and so with out wasting anymore time Kagome shucked off her obi, outer kimono, boots and socks, until she was standing in nothing more than her undergarments, and the long thin sheath she wore under her kimono.

Picking her way along the slick rocks, Kagome knelt down and dipped her hands into the water, splashing her face and washing her hair. Without her bag, there was little she could do to wash fully, but there was no way she was going to travel with two men smelling like a dirty pig.

Kagome flipped her long hair over her shoulder, and dipped her head into the water, combing through her dark locks with her finger. Her shirt was wet, but it wouldn't matter for long, as the sun was already warm on her back.

When she was finished with her hair, Kagome returned to her knees before the creek, twisting her hair into a braid. As she looked up, she was surprised to find Itachi sitting in a tree on the other side of the creek, watching her contemplatively.

"Good morning," Kagome greeted politely, flicking her hair over her shoulder and standing. Her state of dress lingered at the back of her mind; that her undershirt was see-through with water and her undergarments were the only thing protecting her modesty from this strange man. However, Itachi didn't seem interested in her body, although an unseemly amount of skin was currently bare to his view.

"You did not try to flee," Itachi asked, although it seemed to be more of a statement than a question.

"No," Kagome smiled. "I'm smarter than that – as I've told you. You have yet to realize I speak the truth, it seems."

"Hn," Itachi replied, glancing away.

Kagome turned and made her way back to her clothes, a morning breeze chilling her skin. Itachi's glaze returned to her form while her back faced him, his eyes tracing her warm skin, lingering on the pale scars that littered her back.

It was clear to him that she'd been through more than he'd been informed of, some of the scars long and jagged; some of them round and puckered, like she'd been pierced. The morning wind lifted her shirt, and bared the soft flesh of her stomach, and Itachi felt his eyes widen in disbelief. There was only one mark that marred her front, and it was a puckered starburst shape just near her hip, where she had pointed to the other night.

_Curious_. Itachi's eyes narrowed in inspection, but Kagome finished dressing and hid it from his view. _Most curious indeed._

"Shall we?" Kagome turned to him, taking in his puzzled look. _He must have seen my scars._

Itachi cleared the creek and landed a little ways ahead of her, and began the walk back to camp. Kagome followed wordlessly, hoping that he wouldn't question her about her scars.

_Surely, there's no way to explain that they're caused by years of war against a demon and his offspring_, Kagome thought to herself with a chuckle. _If he does question me, I'd best have a response ready._

**tbc.**


	2. breathing underwater

**A/N:** Here's the second instalment... yes, there is a timeskip between this chapter and the last one, just so you know. Also, there's some medical-related stuff in this chapter; just a heads up, I didn't research any of it, so I don't know how much is acurate. I basically wrote from remembered experience with doctors, so forgive me!

Anyhow, I think that's all.

But oh! A big THANK YOUUUUUU~! to everyone who reviewed, it really does help me keep going. Hopefully this chapter is up to standards!

* * *

**the principal of drowning**

**ii – breathing underwater**

**by ancient relic**

-::-

Kagome sighed, staring up at the grey sky through the leaves. The day was dull and foreboding, and Itachi hadn't returned for several days. Living with Kisame was tense; the man didn't speak to her often, and did his best to avoid any interaction with her. He sent a clone to fetch them fish from the river, which she prepared twice a day, for lunch and dinner. Breakfast was fresh fruits and berries that she found around the forest nearby.

"Shouldn't he be back by now?" Kagome asked softly, her voice loud in the stillness of the forest.

"Yes," Kisame's voice almost sounded pained.

"Where is he?" she glanced through the trees, listening for an approach she wouldn't hear anyhow.

"I don't know what's holding him up," Kisame replied. "Itachi is completely capable of taking care of himself."

"But I—"

"Just quit it, all right?" Kisame cut her off harshly. "He'll get here when he gets here."

Kagome scowled, but shut up. It had occurred to her that now would be a fine time to try to escape, with Itachi AWOL and Kisame agitated and tense. However, with the blue-skinned swordsman so on edge, her chances definitely diminished. Grumbling, Kagome rifled through her bag. Shoving aside her change of clothes, her hand touched something cool and smooth.

_My old diary… _

Kagome felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. Pulling the book out of her bag, she opened the book slowly, listening as the spine cracked with age. The very first entry was from her early adventures with Shippo and InuYasha, beginning when she'd first discovered that InuYasha became a human on the night of the new moon. Kagome flipped through the entries slowly, reading passages and giggling softly.

Kisame focused on Kagome's form across the clearing out of the corner of his eye, watching as she flipped through a book. He was relatively unsurprised that she could read, as he'd come to expect as much from her. He'd never been allowed to see the contents of her bag, and to his knowledge, Itachi hadn't either; although he'd questioned Kagome about additional weapons before returning it to her.

He wondered what she was reading about, when a noise caught his attention. His hand immediately went for his kunai holster out of habit, and he was on his feet, halfway across the clearing to Kagome's side when he realized that she seemed to have noticed the same sound, and was on her feet too. Her eyes were closed, and she put a hand out to the trunk of the tree she'd been resting against, and then the strangest thing seemed to happen.

The air surrounding them seemed to _hum_ with life, vibrate with some kind of unseen energy. He could feel it radiate from both her and the tree in waves, and it washed along his skin leaving goose bumps in its wake. It felt like his hair was standing on end, like some kind of electrical current was being absorbed into his skin, and he felt his tiredness seep from his body.

"It's Itachi." Kagome said after a moment, dropping her hand from the tree, and turning her head to the South. "He's hurt, badly."

Without another word, she grabbed her bag and took off through the trees, leaving Kisame to catch up. He was at her side a moment later, and they raced through the trees towards his injured partner.

"Is he alone?" Kisame asked, mentally running through any situations that Itachi could have gotten himself into.

"As far as I can tell," Kagome said shortly, leaping over a log like a gazelle. "I don't know what happened to him, though."

They found him a moment later, holding himself up against the trunk of another tree. His hand was clenched in his cloak, clutching at his chest, and gut-wrenching coughs wracked his form, making his shoulders tremble. Kagome's eyes ran over his form, catching the sight of dark blood on his pale hands. He didn't seem to have any outwardly wounds, which left the only alternative—

"He's sick. Really sick, if he's coughing up blood." She said, approaching him quickly.

Kisame stared, shocked, as Kagome stepped up to his partner, gently prying his hand from his cloak. He'd never seen Itachi in such a state before- if he'd been sick like this before, then the Uchiha had hidden it incredibly well. As he moved towards his partner and their hostage, he listened to Kagome coach Itachi through the fit.

"Itachi, its Kagome. I've had medical training, you're very, very ill. I need you to listen very carefully to everything I say, and I need you to shake your head and tell me yes or no, okay?" Kagome crooned, taking both of his hands and helping him down to the ground, so he was sitting, resting with his back against the tree.

Itachi gave her the barest of nods, his skin pale, the spatter of blood around his mouth so dark it looked black. The lines and bags around his eyes seemed pronounced, and for the first time in a long time, Kisame noticed Itachi's age.

"Have you had these fits for a long time?" Kagome pulled a cloth and a bottle of water out of her bag, and dampened the cloth, before wiping the blood off his face and palms. Itachi nodded, his face contorting as another wave of coughing made his shoulders shake.

Kagome covered his mouth with the cloth, and after the coughing quieted, Itachi spat out the blood and saliva that had collected in his mouth.

"Has there always been blood?" she questioned, washing the blood from her hands with some water, and drying them on her kimono. Itachi shook his head no weakly, his breathing wheezy and weak.

"You have trouble breathing? A clenching pain in your chest- approximately here," Kagome pressed her palm softly to his chest, where he'd been grasping it earlier. Itachi nodded, his breathing becoming softer and calmer.

Kagome tugged at his headband, and then put her hand to Itachi's forehead, the other to her own. After a moment, she frowned a bit, and then turned to Kisame. "Bring your forehead down here."

Kisame untied his own headband, and then knelt down obligingly. Kagome gently brushed his hair out of the way, and Kisame's skin seemed to tingle at her gentle touch. She placed the back of her hand against his forehead, and closed her eyes comparing the two.

"I think he has a bit of a fever," Kagome said, withdrawing her hand from both of their foreheads. When the warmth of her hand was gone from his forehead, Kisame noticed the cold acutely. Quickly and wordlessly, he retied his headband, and stood up.

"Itachi, I need you to try to stand. You're probably feeling dizzy, but do the best you can. Kisame can help you, if you need it." Kagome ordered, rising to her feet.

Itachi gave his partner what should have been an intimidating stare, but between his tired face and another small bout of coughing, it was anything but. He pulled himself up the trunk of the tree, and leant gratefully against the wood.

"I need to listen to your lungs," Kagome said, her hands going up to the clasp for his cloak at the base of his neck. She let the heavy cloth fall to the forest floor, revealing the fishnet underneath. Moving behind him, Kagome pulled the shirt up and held it there with both hands.

"You can brace yourself against the tree if you need to, but what I need you to do is to breathe as deeply as you can, as slowly as you can, okay?" she said softly, running her hand lightly across his muscled back briefly, before pressing her ear to his left side.

She felt him tense for the briefest of moments, but Kagome focused her attention on listening for his lungs. Compliantly, Itachi took a shuddering breath, and Kagome heard the answering wheeze and rattle she'd been afraid of.

"Again," she said, moving her hands to his abdomen, feeling as his diaphragm worked and the muscles there contracted as he breathed, listening to his other lung. The second lung had the same answering rattle.

Kagome felt his muscles tense as the deep breathing triggered another bout of coughing, and she listened the best she could to see if she could garner anything else from it. When the coughing passed, she listened to his shaky breathing a moment longer before gently feeling around his abdomen and lower ribcage.

"Does this hurt?" she asked, gently searching for the muscle pain that usually accompanied such strong coughing. Itachi shook his head no, but hissed as she found the muscle towards the center, and the bottom of his ribcage.

"There could be some sub-dermal bruising," she murmured, realizing she might have poked him just a little bit too hard. The muscles there were likely tender and overworked, but so far he was still breathing fine.

"All right, get this back on before you catch a chill," she ordered, pulling his shirt down and grabbing his cloak. Itachi turned around, and wiped some more blood on his sleeve before fastening his cloak.

"You've got a fever, which means your body is working double-time trying to get rid of this virus. It's grown and advanced into something a little more serious; probably some form of bronchitis. It's in your lungs, and the rattle that I heard isn't a good thing. Even if it isn't bronchitis, it's definitely some kind of infection, and if we don't do something for it now, it's going to continue to develop and it's going to reach your heart."

Kagome turned to Kisame, her face grave. "Is there any sheltered, safe place nearby that we can take him for an indefinite period of time? He's in no condition to be travelling, or on his feet at all, for that matter."

"Well the nearest town—"

"We don't have time for a town," Kagome said, exasperated. "We also don't need that kind of attention right now. Calling attention to him while he's indisposed is not a good idea."

Kisame seemed taken aback at her tone, but it was an extremely good point. Itachi was in no condition to use chakra, let alone his Sharingan. And there was no way they'd be able to escape detection without it, either.

"There's some kind of abandoned cave not too far south from here," Kisame said after a moment of wracking his brain for the immediate area layout. "People had tried mining in it, because the caves were formed from a spring that used to run through the area, but they never found anything worth mining there. It should be overgrown and relatively hidden now."

"Good enough." Kagome said. She turned to Itachi, who was looking more and more pale by the minute. A light sheen of sweat had broken out across his forehead, and Kagome scooped up the damp cloth, and wiped it away. "He's going to carry you there, you're in no condition to be on your feet."

"I refuse—" Itachi begun to protest, his voice raspy and sharp from disuse.

"Shut it." Kagome said, holding up her hand. "I don't want to hear it. You've got a fever, you're going to get the spins if you stay on your feet much longer. Suck up your pride, and let him carry you without a fight."

"Or what," Itachi challenged, struggling to smother a cough that welled up. Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, and as he doubled over again coughing, Kagome simply reached out and pressed two fingers to his forehead.

Kisame felt the same hum in the air right before she touched him, and apparently Itachi did too, because he looked up in surprise just in time for Kagome's fingers to make contact with his skin. Then, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he pitched forward. Kagome hooked her hands under his arms, but grunted under his dead weight.

"Did you just knock him unconscious?" he accused incredulously.

"You bet I did," Kagome snapped. "There'll be time for 21 questions later, fish-face. Can you get him off me before I suffocate too?"

Kisame hoisted Itachi's limp form out of Kagome's arms, and threw him over his shoulder fireman-style. Kagome threw the bottle and her cloth back in her bag, and secured it on her back. "All right, lead the way," she said. "And don't worry about me keeping up, just get there as fast as you can."

Without another word, Kisame took off towards the caves, praying that they were where he thought they were.

* * *

"I need firewood, blankets, and some more of the cedar tree leaves. I need to boil him something that he'll be able to keep down, and swallow easily. His throat is practically torn to shreds." Kagome ordered, once they'd arrived at the cave.

Now, Kisame had a fire roaring, and was currently looking after a small pot full of water and cedar, while Kagome was bent over Itachi, her ear hovering over his mouth. She'd divested him of everything but his pants, and had used both his and Kisame's cloaks as extra blankets to keep him warm. Dipping the small cloth in a small bucket of cool water, Kagome gently wiped the sweat off Itachi's clammy skin. Replacing it in the water, she turned to Kisame.

"I'm going to do something now that is probably going to confuse and potentially frighten you." She said. "I need you to guard the both of us while I try an heal him. Neither of us can be disturbed or moved during this process, because I need to maintain as much control as I possibly can."

Kisame opened his mouth to speak, but Kagome raised a hand and cut him off. "There will be time for questions later, and I promise I'll answer them as best as I can. Itachi's body is extremely vulnerable right now, and I need to heal his tissue before there's even more damage done, or even something that's permanent."

"All right," Kisame said simply.

He wasn't sure why he trusted her – there was no proof that what she was about to do was to in fact heal Itachi, rather than hurt him. She'd been no nonsense since she had sensed him earlier though, and she'd been relatively well behaved in their company, keeping to her promises. This serious side of her was strange to see, that much was for certain. Her annoying comebacks, bubbly personality and _witty_ banter had become a regular irritation, and this seriousness seemed out of place.

Kagome adjusted her position so she was kneeling near Itachi's shoulder, and placed one hand over his face, and another over his chest. Her hands hovered several inches short of actually touching him, and then she took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Her body stilled completely, and Kisame was hard-pressed to figure out if she was still breathing, she moved so little.

Kisame watched as her head seemed to loll forward on her chest, and then the _hum_ filled the air. His vision wavered as the initial wave washed over his skin, and he had to blink to clear his sight. Kagome's hair, loose down her back, seemed to move on an air current he couldn't feel, and he had to squint to be sure- it looked like the air between her hands and Itachi's skin was _glowing_.

"What the hell," Kisame stood up, exasperated. He didn't dare get closer after Kagome's warning, so he pace his way to the mouth of the cave, and decided to stand sentry until she came out of it. "I've never seen any kind of healing jutsu like that before…"

_But she isn't a ninja,_ his mind supplied. _She doesn't know any jutsu._

* * *

Kisame practically lept to his feet when he saw Kagome's form move. Night had fallen several hours ago, and the storm had finally broke, rain pouring angrily and echoing softly through the cave. He moved cautiously towards her, stopping several feet short.

Kagome sat back on her butt, moving her stiff legs gingerly. Her whole body was sore from holding the position for so long, but she hadn't noticed the time pass as she meditated, delving into her powers over and over again, trying to purge the illness from both Itachi's lungs.

She'd begun with his throat, healing the rips from his harsh coughs. There was still some blood he'd have to get out of his system, but the tea would help cleanse his trachea. She'd moved onto the lungs next, healing them individually, attacking virus little areas at a time to ensure that one area was completely clean and bacteria free to ensure it wouldn't return. His left lung had been worse than his right—definitely a danger, being that much closer to his heart.

When she'd finally finished removing the illness from his lungs, Kagome had done a cursory scan of the rest of his body to make sure there wasn't anything she'd missed. She had been more than shocked to find damage to both of his eyes, with the tissue slowly withering in his optic nerves. Kagome had gently pushed her power into the deadened cells, encouraging them to grow again, regenerating the nerves until they could have glowed with health.

_Who would have guessed he was going blind,_ Kagome mused. She looked up to see Kisame staring and waiting several feet away. She pulled up the blankets and the cloaks around him, covering his chest. She wrung out the cloth beside her, and folded it and gently placed it across his forehead. All that was left now was to wait for his fever to break. Exhaustion washed over her, and Kagome realized that she had finished just in time- her energy reserves were complete empty.

"I'm going to pass out in a moment," she said wearily, looking at the swordsman in the flickering light of the fire. "When Itachi wakes up, make sure he drinks a full cup of tea before you let him go back to sleep. He's not to move from his spot until I wake up, not even to take a leak. Clear?"

"Yeah," Kisame breathed, watching her curiously.

"He's going to get better now," Kagome said, tracing a finger across his face, down the bridge of his nose. Then her eyes fluttered, and she slowly tipped to the side, completely unconscious.

Kisame lunged forwards and caught her before her head smacked on the rock floor of the cave. Looking at his partner, who's pallor was slowly gaining more colour, he marvelled at what the small girl in his arms had just accomplished—even if he didn't know how it happened. His breathing was deep and steady and even, and Itachi seemed peacefully at ease.

Lifting Kagome off the ground, Kisame lay her down by the fire on her thin sleeping blanket, tucking her bag under her head for support. Itachi was lying on her sleeping roll, which she had insisted on earlier, but Kisame was sure she was too exhausted to care about the cold ground underneath her.

_It seems strange…_ Kisame thought, watching the small woman sleep. _How much more is there that we don't know?_

Her chest rose and fell as she slept, and between the rain and the soft sounds of breathing, Kisame finally let himself fall into a light slumber himself.

* * *

"Itachi," Kisame spoke lowly, cautious of waking Kagome from her slumber.

It was still raining; it had poured all through the night and well into the next day, and Kagome was approaching being asleep for almost 24 hours. When his partner stirred, Kisame rose from the entrance of the cave and swiftly brought a cup of tea to his side.

Itachi groaned softly, struggling to open his eyes. The cave was dark, and the fire send strange shadows across the ceiling of the cave above him. He lay there, staring at the patterns of light and dark across the stone for a few long minutes until his partner called his name.

"Kisame," Itachi rasped, struggling for a moment to pull himself upright. The blankets that had covered him fell away, and the cloth on his forehead slid off his face and down his chest. The cool air caught him off guard, and he shivered despite himself. "Where are we?"

"You shouldn't be talking too much yet," Kisame said. "Kagome says drink this. The whole thing, even though it tastes like ass."

Itachi took the mug from his partner, and gave it a subtle sniff. Cedar. Resisting the urge to make a face, Itachi sipped slowly at the leafy tea, listening as Kisame continued to speak.

"We're in the old mining caves south of where we found you," he said. "We made it here just in time; you've been unconscious and it's been raining now for over a day. Kagome healed you somehow; she said it was pretty bad. You're supposed to sleep the rest of your fever off."

Itachi knocked back the rest of the tea in a few gulps, feeling sleep trying to claim him again. He did feel like he hadn't been sick at all- although there was a soreness in his chest from all his coughing. Itachi glanced at the fire several feet away, and Kagome's form, where she was sound asleep.

"I'll have to thank her later," Itachi said softly, before settling back amongst the blankets. Realizing that he was much more comfortable than he expected, Itachi was surprised to find Kagome's sleeping mat beneath him.

"…her bed roll?"

Kisame was already back by the fireside, adding another log to the blaze.

"Yeah, don't ask me." He shrugged. "That girl… is a weird one."

Itachi resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and merely shut them instead, falling asleep to the gentle echo of the rain on the stone.

* * *

In the middle of the night, something woke Kisame from a light sleep. Glancing cursorily around the cave, Kisame took in Kagome and Itachi, both sound asleep. Kagome was quickly approaching being asleep for almost 36 hours, and she hadn't moved a muscle. Curious and slightly alarmed, Kisame had put his hand near her nose to check if she was still breathing.

She was.

Turning his attention outside of the cave, Kisame squinted through the falling rain. Besides the obvious dark of night, the rain didn't help his already poor visibility at all. Listening carefully, Kisame heard chatter- bickering and orders, coming from somewhere down the small crest the cave was in.

"Of all times," Kisame cursed. His genjutsu was too poor to hide this cave, and judging by the sounds of whoever was approaching, they knew where the cave was anyhow, and were searching for refuge from the rain.

Gripping a kunai firmly in hand, Kisame headed out into the rain, climbing off the path and onto some of the larger outcroppings that overlooked the path further down, so he'd be able to see who was coming. He didn't have long to wait for the rain to soak through his clothes; but he also didn't have long to wait for the intruders to appear.

It was a group of men, 7 or 8 of them, perhaps. There were all large and plainly dressed; most of them held swords or spears. They were all arguing and complaining about the rain, but their leader, the largest out of all of them, turned around and snapped.

"Shut up, you sorry excuses for ninja! We're almost there, and if I hear one more word not only will you be sleeping outside in the rain, but it will be at the _bottom_ of the hill, after I push you over the side."

The boss' threat shut the rest of the group up real quick, but Kisame couldn't help but bemoan his situation. They were all rogue ninja? Just his goddamn luck.

As they got closer to his location, Kisame realized that although they appeared to be civilians, there were indeed kunai and shuriken hidden amongst them, beyond their swords. They all wore standard ninja footwear, as well as leg bracers and wrist bracers as well.

"Well what do we have here, men?" Kisame hopped over the side, landing in front of the rogue ninja. The boss didn't seem startled by his appearance, although all the others did.

"Such a malicious chakra," the boss growled, narrowing his eyes at Kisame. "You are much more powerful than you seem,"

"Good observation, boss," Kisame snarled. "Now how about you boys turn around and head back to where you came from, and no one has to take a little trip over the side."

"Get out of my way, boy," the boss said. "We have no business with you this night."

"That's not how it works," Kisame replied, his teeth flashing eerily in the night. "You ain't going any further."

"We'll see about that," the boss said, and flicked his thumb, releasing his blade from its scabbard. His other hand grasped the hilt familiarly, and Kisame silently cursed his luck. Too many swordsman for his taste. Samehada practically sang on his back, eager to destroy the ninja before him.

However, Samehada was too wide and broad to be wielded with any success here, where the path was narrow and there was a rather steep, muddy slide to the base of the hill. The rain made everything slick, and Kisame's typical high-velocity water jutsu were not going to aide him here either.

_This is just not my night,_ Kisame cursed, before flipping several more kunai into one hand, and quickly created several clones. _Best get this over with as quickly as possible. I can't draw this out._

As 8 Kisame's lunged towards the 8 ninja, steel on steel echoed through the rain like thunder. The real Kisame was duelling with one of the complainers- Kisame had singled him out as the weakest link as they had rounded the corner. He was easy enough to tip over the side when his sword was out of his hands, and Kisame quickly sent two more after their comrade.

He was down to three clones however, and a strike of lightning destroying a fourth made him recalibrate his attack plan. These were ninja, not swordsmen, and although their swordplay left much to be desired, electricity was dangerous in the rain, when everything was covered in water.

Lightning was wild and unpredictable, but Kisame knew that with the moisture in the air, it would be easier to direct. "All right boys, who's next?" he chuckled with glee, searching through the rain for the lightning-caster.

By the time he'd made his way through the rain and the muck, he was down to two clones, and starting to feel the heat. The lightning strikes were getting more and more accurate, and pushing through three swordsmen to get to the caster was challenging when he couldn't use his sword.

The boss was currently busy destroying his remaining two clones, and every time Kisame knocked one of the four remaining ninja away, their attack formation seemed to adjust seamlessly and it was like he hadn't gained any ground at all.

_I can't keep this up,_ he realized. _They're pushing higher, and I can't do anything without knocking us all off this cliff._

Kisame made a quick substitution with his last clone, watching as it got hacked to pieces in his place from several steps up the ridge. The five remaining rouges turned to him then, in a triangle formation with the boss at the apex, and continued up the slope.

"This is a poor spot for defence," the beefy boss man spoke. "I'll ask you one last time; step aside, and I'll spare your life. Raise another blade against us, and it will be you against those rocks with our comrades."

Kisame sneered at the men, and sent a kunai with an explosive tag flying at them. The boss knocked it aside with his blade, but it slid awkwardly and wedged itself in the rock face along the path. As the tag exploded, part of the path crumbled and dropped away in the rain, and as part of the cliff face collapsed, it roared like thunder in the night.

The rock and mud began to give way under their feet, and they were all forced even further up the path onto harder ground. The cave entrance was in sight now, and Kisame cursed out loud. There was more room now, but not enough for his water jutsu, and the rest of his arsenal was geared towards mass destruction; which he couldn't use with Itachi and Kagome incapacitated so nearby.

"So you're protecting someone!" the boss shouted, pointing his blade at the cave. The fire shone through the rain, the drops of water refracting the light and giving the cave mouth a glow. "Your companions will meet the same fate as you tonight, my friend!"

With an unspoken order, the ninja rushed the cave, and lightning struck the ground around Kisame wildly, stopping him from blocking the assault. Panic wormed its way across his face, as another lightning bolt forced him to jump backwards, further from the cave. _Goddamn it Itachi, wake up…_

The ninja at the cave stopped several feet short, and seemed frozen in place. "What the hell, why are you stopping?"

"Boss…" one of the men choked out, "We… can't move! Something is stopping us from going forwards,"

"What the—" one of them managed to get out, before a brilliant yellow glow rushed forwards, throwing two of the men who were unlucky enough to get caught in the light backwards and into the night, over the cliff.

The remaining two ninja immediately backed up to flank their boss, all eyes nervously on the cave. Kisame recognized the light the second Kagome stepped out of the cave, a strange transparent shield rippling around the mouth of the cave as she passed through it.

"Leave now," Kagome said, her voice icy. "We are resting here."

"Get out of our caves!" one of the ninja boldly shouted, brandishing his sword at Kagome. Kisame noted the rusty blade at her side with surprise.

_Where did that stupid thing come from?_

Kagome lifted it slowly, and twirled it experimentally, rolling her wrist. "I didn't see your name on it," she replied smugly.

"Wench," the boss laughed at her, "cease this; but that piece of junk down and we will let you live and entertain us!"

"First of all," the grin disappeared from Kagome's face like the rain that rolled down off her chin. "_never_ call me _wench_."

The bright yellow light glowed briefly and brightly around her sword, and when it diminished, a giant curved blade, almost as big as she was, sat in its place. There was an explosion of fur where the blade met the hilt, and the sword was white, instead of steel.

"Second of all, you are sorely mistaken if you think that this is a piece of junk. Allow me to _entertain_ you. _Tetsusaiga! Kaze no Kizu!_"

Kagome swung the blade above her head and brought it smashing to the ground, arcs of yellow light lighting up the night and ripping across the path to throw the two remaining ninja over the cliff. The boss was the only one that remained, and as he realized this, he snarled, withdrawing a second shorter blade from behind his back.

"You were foolish to think I would leave the cave unprotected," Kagome called to him. "You should have woken me up when you sensed something,"

"Whatever pip-squeak," he waved her off. "How about you hurry up and finish what you started and knock this bastard over the side so we can get out of the rain!"

"Not so fast!" the man snarled, flipping through handsigns. Two clones appeared at his side, and they lunged at Kisame, blades up. Kagome leapt at the man, their swords colliding with a ringing crash. Kisame drew the two clones farther away from where Kagome was currently in close combat with the boss. With their swords, close combat was too much effort. Kisame flipped through several hand signs, and sent both clones back to their maker with two giant water bullets.

Kisame returned to Kagome's fight just in time to see her send the larger man stumbling backwards, and she lunged forward with a final stab, sending him toppling backwards. As he flailed however, the tip and edge of his blade sprung forwards and ripped through Kagome's side. Kagome cried out, dropping her blade, which disappeared in a bright yellow light the second it left her hand. Kisame hurried over to her, surprised to see the dark red stain spreading rapidly in the rain across her light kimono.

"What the hell, pip-squeak? You were holding your own against me, and you let that waste of life hit you?" he practically shouted.

Kagome looked up at him, blinking at him wearily through the rain. "I guess I slipped?" she chuckled weakly. "I'm losing blood too fast, I don't think I'll be able to stand. Can you get me back into the cave?"

"Yeah," he said, bending down to scoop her up again. Pulling her close to his chest, the metallic tang of blood filled his nose and for the first time in just about ever, Kisame wasn't satisfied or happy to smell it.

"Gently, you oaf," Kagome hissed as her side brushed roughly against his arm.

"Cool your jets," Kisame snapped back, tense.

Once they were out of the rain, it wasn't water that was running down his chest, but Kagome's blood as it sluggishly dripped from beneath her fingers.

"Take off your kimono," he ordered, as he sat her down gently by her resting place near the fire. "How deep did it go?"

"Deep enough," Kagome grimaced. "Get my bag, we need to stop the bleeding."

Kisame obliged, bringing it to her side. He watched her struggle for a moment with her kimono, before he sighed, and pulled out a kunai. "Let me do it,"

"He got my arm too," Kagome gasped, as Kisame moved it a little too roughly. "My arm took most of it I think, because he might have hit a tendon- I can't move my fingers,"

"Jesus," Kisame hissed, cutting away her obi and half of her kimono, and then peeling her undershirt away from her side.

Scars peppered her alabaster skin, but angry and raw and still sluggishly bleeding was a diagonal cut, and he thought he could see the white of her ribs beneath the flesh. Her arm had indeed taken most of the hit, and the wound was not a simple slash, but a deeper twisting cut, open and bleeding like a gutted fish.

"You're going to need to clean it first," Kagome wheezed. "I don't have the energy to heal it right now,"

"Okay," Kisame nodded. He had little first aid training, but he knew enough that if a wound wasn't cleaned before it was bandaged, then bacteria would not only get into the system through a fresh open wound, but would linger longer in the flesh and the bandage, and just grow.

He gingerly mopped up as much of the blood as he could, using the wet rags of Kagome's kimono to clean the edge of the raised wounds as best as he could without agitating them further. When they were as clean as he could get them, he stopped, and looked to her for her next instruction.

"You're going to need to…" Kagome hissed again as his cold fingers brushed the lip of the gash on the underside of her arm, "cauterise the one on my arm. I don't have any more sutures."

"What?" Kisame stared at her like she had two heads. "You must be joking."

"No, I don't have your poor sense of humour and timing," she laughed weakly. Her face was pale, and Kisame realized that she'd already lost too much blood. It was currently being soaked up by the rest of her kimono, but it was starting to puddle under her legs.

"Fuck," Kisame reached for a kunai, and stuck it directly into the burning coals at the heart of the first. He listened as the fire eagerly hissed around the hot metal, and looked back to Kagome, who was swaying, trying to stay upright, her face contorted in pain. "This is going to hurt,"

Kagome opened her eyes and stared him dead in the face, her blue eyes dark and haunted. "I've had worse, trust me."

_What the hell has this woman lived through?_

"It will leave a scar, but at this point, I don't care. Try to line everything up and the edges as smoothly as possible so that it's not a raised scar, all right?" she asked, using her uninjured arm to pull the other above her head, stretching the skin and showing the wound so he could reach it easily. "I'll probably pass out, but I've got gauze in my bag, I'll need you to wrap them both when you're done."

Kisame nodded, eyeing the cut and then Kagome, as she turned her head away and closed her eyes. Grabbing the glowing red blade from the fire, Kisame grasped Kagome's arm, smothering a wince as she flinched.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, right before he pressed the burning metal to her skin.

Kagome screamed.

**tbc.**


	3. the principal of drowning

**A/N:** So, here it is, the anticipated conclusion of this story... a few notes:

It strays a little from the Humor/Romance genre... again, there is a timeskip... and there are _some_ things that are left unexplained. Please let me know if you have any questions/comments about anything that happens in this chapter, cool?

Again, thanks to all that reviewed, and thanks for sticking with this!

**EDIT:** ALSO! If any of you are interested, as some have seemed to be, in the writing of a sequel... please visit my profile and vote on the poll that I've posted there! If I get enough votes in relation to the reviews for this story, I will continue Kagome and Kisame's story into a sequel. That is all! :)

**EDITEDIT:** The sequel is officially an official thing... ;) It's called _World on Fire_. Please head over to my profile to check the story out! Thank you for all your feedback.

* * *

**the principal of drowning**

**iii – the principal of drowning**

**by ancient relic**

**-::-**

"It doesn't make any sense," Kisame murmured, staring at Kagome as she walked along the trail ahead of them. Itachi matched his stride, and the two formidable ninja walked in complete synchronicity.

"I'm more inclined to believe that you're thinking about this too much," Itachi said slowly, his attention on Kagome as well.

"If you don't consider it, then it makes even less sense," Kisame argued. "Even you believe that there is no innately pure person in this world."

"Indeed," Itachi acknowledged with a dip of his head.

He pondered Kisame's words, and thought back, piecing together all of the things he had learned about Kagome. She was proficient at fighting with a blade. She was easily able to match the pace of a trained ninja. She seemed to possess a strange form of energy that occasionally appeared to the naked eye; if it did, it was with a faint pink-white glow - and it always manifested with a tangible _hum_, seemingly setting everything within a certain diameter of Kagome's body ablaze with energy.

She didn't know the area at all, as if she was a stranger in a foreign country. She wasn't familiar with any of the governing nations, or groups like the Akatsuki, who were a well known rumour that struck fear into the hearts of travellers and ninja alike. Curiously, she knew nothing about the shrines and it's guardians from which she claimed to draw her namesake.

Perhaps the most curious thing about her were the scars that covered her back, her arms, and the one along her side. When Kisame had cauterized her wound, she had passed out. Itachi had gained enough strength to assist his partner in healing the small woman, and it had started with gingerly peeling the remainder of her kimono from her torso.

Itachi suspected that she had little care for her person based upon the marks that were bared again to his eyes, having seen them once before. Kisame, however, had no idea what evidence lay across her body beneath her clothes, and had recoiled in surprise.

"What the _fuck_," he breathed, running a finger around the rim of perhaps the largest mark on her back, a giant puckered scar almost two inches in diameter.

"This is from something puncturing her," he said dumbly, looking at his partner. "What the hell could have been so wide to puncture her shoulder… and she survived?"

Itachi hadn't seemed surprised by the reveal of Kagome's torn skin, and Kisame had been very suspicious and curt with him for the rest of the delicate procedure of cleaning Kagome's skin and wounds, and cleanly bandaging them.

"What the hell has she lived through?" Kisame now spoke his earlier thought aloud, staring at the girl who remained blissfully unconscious, and was now resting near the fire.

Itachi sat on the other side of the merry blaze, quietly marvelling at the detail he could pick out amongst the glowing embers. The girl had managed to return his failing eyesight. He was irrevocably in her debt now.

"That remains to be unexplained," Itachi said softly, his dark eyes settling on their _hostage_. "We will have our answers soon."

* * *

Kagome ignored the men behind her as she walked, but she knew they were talking about her. As she took in the scenery around her, she realized that she had no idea where she was. Although she'd been stuck in this world—or maybe this time, who knew—for almost a year, she hadn't learned enough about it to know where she was, or what she was near.

The only men she knew were the two that followed behind her; as she'd left a trail of destruction in her wake and had little time to settle anywhere. Head hunters, ninja, samurai, and other powerful opponents seemed to find her no matter where she hid, inevitably drawn to the power of the jewel that now coursed through her veins. The dangerous job of protecting the jewel had been left to her; and because there truly was no pure wish, Kagome decided to accept the role of its protector.

The jewel had long since merged into her body, its powers multiplying her own exponentially. However, despite this it also made her powers fluctuate wildly; and with the full moon every month, the demonic powers that had also been sealed into the jewel chose that time to test her will.

Kagome grudgingly realized that they were quickly approaching the night of the full moon- they were three nights away. Glancing over her shoulder at her _captors_, Kagome was surprised to find that they were both studying her.

"Where are we?" she asked, carefully treading backwards rather than stop their trek.

"We are just north of Konohagakure," Itachi replied. "We will not be heading any further south, however, as our organization and Konoha are not on pleasant terms."

"Unpleasant terms, eh." Kagome chuckled. "Attack and kill on sight kind of terms?"

"That is one way to put it," Itachi felt the corner of his mouth lift up in a ghost of a smile. To his left, Kisame scowled.

"Hey fish-face," Kagome turned her attention to Kisame when she noticed his scowl, and fought the urge to giggle. "You're not from Konoha, are you?"

Kisame's eyes widened in surprise. "No," he said. "How did you know?"

"I've heard about the 'Village Hidden in the Leaves'" Kagome shrugged. "I also know that the symbol on your forehead doesn't match Itachi's."

"Very perceptive," Itachi cut in. "What else do you know about Konoha?"

Kagome shrugged her shoulders, but a familiar tingle rippled down her spine, and her jaw dropped.

"There's a _demon_?" her voice was disbelieving and cracked as the last word passed her lips.

Kisame turned to look at Itachi, who was still staring, his eyes narrowed dangerously at Kagome. Kagome was glancing into the trees, her mind somewhere far away, but he hadn't seen her look so uncomfortable short of being so dangerously wounded.

"How do you know that?" Itachi asked, his voice cold and low. Kagome turned to Itachi, her eyes still wide and doe-like.

"I can feel it," she whispered.

* * *

Kagome sighed softly, tightening her arms around her legs. Kisame was snoring happily away around the small fire Itachi had created, and Itachi was nowhere to be seen. He often disappeared in the middle of the night, but once he left Kagome's immediate range, she had no way of finding him other than delving into earth energy. When she did that, however, it created a tangible tingle that Kisame was so sensitive to, it would without doubt wake the ninja.

The thrumming warning of _demon_ at the back of her mind kept her from sleeping, and the uncomfortable silence that now permeated the air between herself and the missing nin made her uneasy. They were not happy she had withheld her ability to sense demonic energies from them- and although she didn't clarify the extent of her powers, she had admitted her ability to see demonic auras and track them from a distance.

The past few days had been awkward and tense. Little passed between the three as they moved through the woods. Itachi kept to himself about as much as usual, but Kagome caught him watching her with a wary, pensive look—and she hadn't realized how much Kisame had relaxed around her until he completely ignored her. Her thoughts rested on the strange swordsman for several long minutes, but a chill ran down her spine as her senses screamed at her as the demonic energy flared up.

Involuntarily rising to her feet, Kagome felt her powers rise within her, the energy leaping beneath her fingertips, dancing right beneath her skin. Kisame was sound asleep, and Itachi was no where to be seen. Weighing her chances quickly, Kagome grabbed her bag and dashed off into the trees. She had no idea where she was running, but she followed the tingle in her mind. It told her that the energy was moving; and moving _fast_ somewhere to the north west of her.

Kagome dodged through some tightly packed foliage, and tripped her way into a large clearing; surprised she had covered so much distance in such a small amount of time. Her abilities always seemed to magnify her physical strengths, although Kagome also attributed it to the demonic powers that now ran through her bloodstream. The full moon shone down through the trees, and Kagome felt a tendril of dread uncurl in her stomach.

_How did I lose track of the nights?_

The demonic presence that she had sensed earlier was approaching the other end of the clearing quickly, and Kagome realized with an impending sense of doom that whoever the demon was, it wasn't alone. Another figure was following the demon—maybe even chasing. Things were quickly going from bad to worse. On full moons, Kagome couldn't successfully tap into the natural earth energy because the dark, demonic abilities would strain her own powers to the point where she just couldn't handle trying to maintain any other connections. Because she couldn't expand her senses through the natural network of the earth energy, Kagome felt blind. She couldn't sense Itachi, and she was out of range to sense Kisame, too. She didn't even know if he'd remained asleep after her flight from camp.

"Hey, you!" a voice called out from across the clearing. It wasn't angry, but it did seem authoritative. "What are you doing here?"

Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but felt the thrum of power from the jewel well up within her throat. Forcing it down and willing her mental barriers to hold for just a little bit longer, she put on a smile and turned to the figure that approached her.

"Hi, I'm afraid I've just gotten a little lost. I'm just a travelling healer, you see?" she said politely, giving the boy a bow.

He had a shock of blonde hair, and brilliant blue eyes that shone brightly even in the moonlight. His black and orange suit seemed garish for a ninja, but Kagome had to admit that the bright colour suited him quite well.

"A travelling healer?" the boy seemed sceptical. "I've never heard that one before… how about you, Sai?" he tossed over his shoulder.

"Dickless," the second boy leapt from the trees, "Way to give it away."

"She's a healer, not a ninja," the blonde said, but whatever he was going to say next was cut off by his partner.

"Do you take everything you hear from strangers at face value?" the boy, Sai, spat back.

"No," the first boy scoffed, crossing his arms. "But do you sense any chakra?"

This seemed to catch Sai off guard, and his face coloured. Kagome smiled in amusement, but she could no longer pay full attention to their conversation as they continued to trade barbed insults back and forth. The power was welling within her, the pressure in her temples equivalent to a massive migraine.

"Hey, hey, what's your name?" the first boy asked. "Mine's Naruto."

It took Kagome a minute to force the power down again before she could unlock her jaw and respond to him. "K….Kagome," she ground out, giving his partner a nod.

"Are you all right, miss?" Sai asked, watching as Kagome let out an involuntary shudder.

"I…" Kagome trailed off as the power thrummed along her skin.

The hum of her powers was beginning to manifest in an attempt to keep the darker powers of the Shikon at bay, and she watched through wavering vision as Naruto, the one she sensed the demon coming from, stiffened. He was noticeably alert, eyeing her warily.

"What are you?" his words were soft. "What kind of power do you have that's making me feel like I'm on fire?"

"My ability…" Kagome ground out, her balance wavering as the pressure in her head reached its boiling point, "..is _purification_."

Leaving the implication of that word to settle in the boy's mind, Kagome let herself drop to her knees. She let her powers flow freely from her skin, stretching out in a bubble almost ten feet in diameter from her body. Naruto hissed and jumped backwards, Sai moved into a defensive position at the boy's side, and Itachi stepped from the trees, several feet away from where Kagome was kneeled on the ground.

"My, my, Naruto… what a pleasant surprise," Itachi said coolly, turning to look at Kagome with the faintest hint curiosity at her discomfort.

"You… you used me to draw him out, didn't you?" Kagome asked, watching as Itachi examined his hand as he held in within her aura of power.

"It became a convenient alternative, I will admit," Itachi said slowly, raising his gaze to meet Kagome's, an undecipherable look in his eyes.

* * *

Kisame rolled over, moving dangerously close to the flames before their warmth on his skin set off a warning in the back of his mind. Grumbling, Kisame shifted his position, raising himself with a grunt into a sitting position. His eyes focused blearily on the flames, which were much smaller than he'd expected, given the heat they were giving off… but then again, maybe he was just that much closer to them than he'd realized.

Cracking his neck, Kisame turned his gaze to Kagome's bed roll across the fire, where she'd set it up by the nearest trees, just out of the ring of firelight. He'd noticed in the past few days since Kagome had let slip her strange ability to sense demonic energy that she'd been releasing her own powers in small bursts; zoning off with her hands on the ground, or even against the trunks of trees.

He searched for her form amongst the shadows of the night, and felt a strange, niggling sensation in the back of his mind… like he was forgetting something, something important. Kagome's figure, whether asleep or awake, didn't emerge from the shadows. The sensation turned into a strange combination of dread and anger… _where had she gone?_

Another cursory scan of the camp told him that aside from her bedroll, he was alone. Itachi was nowhere to be found, and Kisame didn't feel his chakra signature anywhere near. Hopping to his feet, he shook his cloak off and wrapped it around his shoulders against the chill of the moon and took off in the direction of the city, leaving Samehada's menacing presence to guard the rest of their belongings at their campsite.

"That infernal woman, always causing problems,_" _Kisame grumbled to himself as he ran. His mind, still shaking off the last vestiges of sleep brought forth several memories of her—her relentless teasing, her strange, yet admirable prowess with her strange sword, her dazzling smile. Against his will, Kisame felt his face heat, and was suddenly extremely glad to be on his own. _There'd be no explaining that otherwise._

Kisame nearly fell from the tree branch he was landing on as a familiar wave of energy washed over his body, capturing his attention and making him lose his focus.

_Kagome…_ Kisame had never felt a release of her energy quite like that before; so anguished, so enraged—so tainted by negativity. There was a clenching feeling in his chest and Kisame took off with more speed than before, changing his direction and heading towards where the energy had radiated from. The closer he got, the more made itself clear; his partner was there, as well as the demon host of Konoha, as well as another ninja, and Kagome.

Kisame slowed to a stop in a tree bordering the clearing. Several feet away, he could see Kagome, apparently collapsed on the ground, his partner kneeling almost a dozen feet away, and the two Konoha brats even further off; the orange one cringing on the ground in pain, and the other one standing protectively before him.

"Itachi…" Kagome ground out, her hair fluttering around her form as she struggled to raise her head. "Why are you _doing this?_"

"I do not answer to you," Itachi said coldly, pulling himself to his feet. Kisame sensed as his partner hastily replaced himself with a clone, and warily looked on from the bushes across the clearing.

"You will answer my questions now," he threatened. "Or prepare to face the consequences. You were not completely honest when you spoke of your ability to sense demon energies… what else are you capable of?"

"Now…" Kagome groaned, reaching up to grasp her temples, "isn't really the best time…"

"You try my _patience_." Itachi hissed, his Sharingan flashing. "What is happening?" another burst of energy seemed to expand from Kagome's body, forcing the clone to disappear instantaneously.

This time, unlike all those before, Kisame watched as Kagome's power manifested as more than a mere _hum_. A brilliant pink light shone from her eyes, and her hair lifted on an unseen current. Her head tipped back and her mouth opened in a wordless scream, and a dark purple mist seemed to escape, swirling around her form.

"_Naruto… get away! If this power reaches you, it will kill you!"_ Kagome cried shrilly, climbing to her feet exhaustedly, watching as the strange purple mist seemed to slowly condense.

Sai didn't waste any time, and turned to Naruto, who was still moaning on the ground, and grabbed his teammate before disappearing across the clearing. Kisame felt their signatures slowly grow distant, and turned his attention to what was unfolding before him.

Kagome had regained some form of control, and had thrown her bag down, and was kneeling with her eyes closed, one hand up to her forehead, between her eyes. She murmured something he couldn't make out, and slowly pulled her hand outward, a glowing yellow light following her hand, reaching outwards from one of her eyes.

_What the fuck._ Kisame found himself repeating the same the words over and over again, floored by the strange events of the night. The moon seemed to shine brighter for the briefest of moments, light flooding the clearing. Kagome slowly rose to her feet as the brilliant golden light coalesced into her ratty sword, and lovingly, Kagome ran her hand along the battered blade.

"Tetsusaiga…" she said softly. "Please come to my aid once again to quell the darkness."

As if in response, the sword released another burst of energy, and Kisame watched as from the hilt, it transformed into the large broadsword he had seen twice before.

With the giant sword in hand, Kagome turned to face the strange mist. "You are inconvenient as always, _Naraku._"

"_Kukuku…_" a haunting voice echoed, seemingly nowhere and everywhere all at once. "_And you, pitiful miko… this will be the last time you see the light of the moon!"_

"Do try to come up with something a little more original," Kagome hissed, shifting her legs into a wider stance, channelling her powers into the sword before her. It began to glow a brilliant yellow, almost brighter than the moon—but the smoke-like substance chose that moment to strike.

Kagome seemed prepared for this, and lunged forwards to meet the smoke with a great downwards sweep of her sword, the glowing yellow blade and her small figure becoming engulfed by the thick mist. It had condensed to the point of appearing to be some type of cloud, or incredibly thick fog… and a small voice in the back of his head supplied _miasma._Kisame scanned the mass for any sign of Kagome, and a brilliant flash of yellow light emerged, shooting straight upwards in several distinct beams.

The cloud recoiled, thinning out and materializing several feet away, leaving Kagome's bruised body behind, her kimono torn and stained by a brackish-coloured liquid, and in some places, the more troubling shade of scarlet… _blood_.

_What the fuck…_

"_Same old tricks indeed…_" the voice rumbled, deep and enticing like the first crackle of thunder. _"How is this for original?_"

The voice laughed, the single most sinister sound Kisame could ever remember hearing, and then swept straight for Itachi's form amongst the trees. "_You cannot hide from me, __**human!**_"

Itachi, who had been meticulously studying the events that were unfolding, was caught completely unprepared as the mist swooped towards his hiding spot. It hit him like a ton of bricks, knocking him backwards through the underbrush and out of view. Kisame held his breath as he waited, searching for any sight of his partner in the foliage.

"Oh, fuck." Kagome spat, stabbing the giant blade into the ground before her. Kisame turned his attention to her curiously—for he'd never heard her sound quite so frustrated in such a context before, and watched as she placed her hands together in the simple form of prayer. The pink light that had manifested before returned, her hands glowing pink.

Again, as she separated them and drew them away from each other, a glimmering pink object seemed to form, shimmering like water. As she spread her arms completely apart from another, the long object seemed to condense and form a longbow.

_Archery…?_

"How very like the priestess you claim not to be," Itachi's voice, laced with an unfamiliar, cruel undertone, spoke from the forest.

"Leave Itachi out of this, Naraku," Kagome called, moving into a different stance—an archery stance, Kisame surmised—and placing a foot behind her, resting against her sword.

"You should have thought of that before," Itachi's voice replied, his figure neatly ducking a low-hanging branch as he emerged into the clearing. Immediately, Kisame could sense the difference in his partner; the strange noxious aura his chakra seemed to emit, rather than the pure power from before. His mouth, nose and eyes seemed to constantly release the purple mist that had charged him moments before, and the strange idea that maybe, the miasma had _possessed_ his partner, took hold of him.

"You will not be able to defeat this human," the creature spoke in Itachi's voice as he looked down at the hands of the body it was inhabiting. "…he is powerful, most powerful indeed. It seems I could not have chosen a better shel—"

Kagome and Kisame both watched as Itachi's body lurched forwards, dry heaving, and collapsed to his hands and knees.

"What is _this?_" Itachi's voice, free of the dark undertone, called raspily. "This dark power inside of me…"

Kagome's eyes widened. Itachi was fighting Naraku's presence? Her mind whirled. Despite his darker countenance, the only way that it was possible for him to fight of the hold to this degree was some type of innate purity buried deep within his soul.

"_FIGHT IT, _ITACHI!" Kagome cried, watching as Naraku forced Itachi's consciousness out of the way, and his own back into control. "DON'T LET IT OVERWHELM YOUR SOUL!"

Raising the glowing pink bow, Kagome pulled her arm back, pulling an invisible bowstring taut. Kisame watched as a brilliant pink-white glow seemed to manifest between her two hands, and realized she also must be manifesting some sort of arrow. Itachi—or Naraku, in control of Itachi's body—rose to his feet, and staggered several steps forward.

"Cursed woman! How is it you affect this man so…!" Naraku growled, but his words trailed off as a beam of brilliant pink light him square in the chest.

The arrow had flown straight and true, zipping across the clearing faster than his eye could track, before embedding itself in his partner's body. An earth-shattering cry echoed from both Itachi and Naraku, the sudden fear of his partner's death occurred to him—but he didn't have time to linger on the thought as the pink light seemed to flood Itachi's body, escaping from his eyes, nose and mouth just as the purple mist had, and forcing the presence of Naraku completely out of Itachi's body. As the mist slowly began to condense just as it had before, Itachi crumpled to the ground, and Kisame felt himself start to move towards him out of habit, before he caught himself and froze.

"Ita—" _Oh fuck…_ Kisame cut himself off, but it was already far too late.

The mist seemed to realize his presence the second his mouth opened, and swarmed towards him immediately, already upon his hiding spot before he had the chance to close his mouth. _Fuck,_ was Kisame's last conscious thought as he felt his body falling backwards and a strange dark presence not unlike unconsciousness swarm over his senses.

* * *

Kagome watched, grateful for her accuracy, as Itachi was freed from Naraku's presence. The man, now blissfully unconscious, crumpled to the ground, and Kagome lowered her bow, letting it disperse as she turned to the massive cloud of miasma that was slowly reforming before her.

She'd feared that the evil powers of the jewel would be able to influence those who weren't pure of heart; and had always taken great care to hide herself away on the nights of the full moon, just so something like this wouldn't occur. The fact that they manifested as Naraku's malevolent presence was enough of a challenge; every full moon bringing back terror-filled memories of days when she'd travelled with her pseudo-family, hunting him down. It made sense that Naraku would be able to possess another's mind, and then his body, in the same way that he'd done so years ago—a memory of Kohaku drifted to the forefront of her mind.

Just like Midoriko and the demon before her were destined to be trapped in eternal battle, it seemed that she was fated to battle the remainder of Naraku. It also seemed, however, that there were ways around Naraku's possession should it ever happen, and Kagome was immensely glad that her gut feeling on Itachi had been right. _I had hoped there was good in you, somewhere… the same good that allowed you to free me from my bindings… to treat me as an equal, not a prisoner._

"Ita—" Kisame's voice captured her attention and Kagome spun around, searching for Kisame's broad form in the trees.

"No… Kisame!" Kagome yelled, watching helplessly as the miasma knocked the ninja from the trees and further into the forest, out of sight. Fighting off the concern for the other ninja, Kagome gave Itachi's prone form one last glance before grabbing Tetsusaiga from the ground and running off after Kisame and the demonic essence of the Naraku... and the jewel.

* * *

"Kisame!" Kagome called, slashing through the thicket before her with her sword before emerging into a different sort of clearing—the wildlife smothered and killed by the malevolent aura that Kagome instantly recognized as the work of Naraku's miasma. "Kisame…"

The man's figure was over a dozen feet away, with his back facing her. His cloak clung to his form in tatters, his shirtless form underneath bare to her eyes. Kagome felt a curl of dread unwind in her stomach, and she clenched Tetsusaiga tighter.

"_Kagome…_" Kisame's voice was haunting, the timbre different than Itachi's had been while Naraku had possessed it. "_You fool._"

"Naraku!" Kagome cried, forcing her voice to be strong. "Leave him alone! Fight me and leave him out of this!"

"_I can hear it in your voice, girl._" Naraku chuckled. "_the pathetic feelings this human holds for you… I can sense them, even if he has not acknowledged them. And you return them, how quaint._"

Kagome was caught off guard by this information, stunned by this revelation. Yes, she had a soft spot for Kisame… but only because she enjoyed pissing him off! Driving him to the end of his rope, seeing how far she could push him before Itachi would intervene, to see the different reactions she could force…

_No…_ Kagome felt the tingling sensation of dread grow. She had sudden flashbacks of the way that Naraku had manipulated InuYasha and Kikyo, all those years ago, and realized that he would likely try to do the same. _I won't let that happen!_

Determination welling within her, Kagome stabbed her blade into the ground and pushed her powers into her hands, willing them to form the bow again so she could force Naraku's presence out of Kisame before something else happened.

"_Couldn't you come up with something a little more original?_" Naraku cackled, lunging towards Kagome. The bow was only a long-distance solution, and Kagome let the power drop, reaching down for Tetsusaiga and jumping away before Kisame's body smashed into the deadened earth where she'd been standing, sending debris flying in every direction.

"Don't make me do this…!" Kagome cried hopelessly, dodging Naraku's relentless attacks, repelling Kisame as best as she could using the flat of her blade. She was grateful beyond words that he hadn't carried Samehada with him.

"_This body is full of power and malicious intent."_ Naraku was gleeful as he forced Kisame's body after Kagome. "_He has done things that would make you cringe, little miko! So perhaps you should look at this in a different light… I am merely making both of your lives easier by taking you out of the picture! He will be a suitable host for the dark power of the Shikon once you are gone."_

"I _refuse_ to let that happen!" Kagome screamed, the Tetsusaiga glowing once more and sending Kisame's body careening backwards, smashing into a tree trunk that still stood in the blackened clearing.

"_KISAME!_ Please, please _wake up!"_ Kagome screamed, her voice hoarse, tears stinging her eyes. "I don't want to hurt you…" her voice trailed off to a whisper, watching as Naraku pulled Kisame's body to his feet. Kisame's dark eyes glittered soullessly, and all Kagome saw was Naraku reflected at her as she stood to face him.

"_There is no place in his dark life for your light."_ Naraku spoke, his words darker and more haunting than any yet.

Kagome steeled herself, her eyes and expression becoming frosty. She had to regain the powers of the jewel- she had to absorb them back into her body before the moon went down, or else it would be too late. Preparing herself, she lifted the Tetsusaiga, feeling it's comforting _hum._ Letting it's power fill her, she synchronized her powers of purification with it, watching as the blade visibly vibrated, _singing_ with power. Similarly, Naraku was seamlessly mixing his dark powers with Kisame's already malevolent chakra, forming a strange sphere of energy before him that rippled like water.

"This is it, Naraku!" Kagome spoke clearly, her voice her toneless battle cry. She lunged across the clearing, closing the space between them far faster than Naraku had expected; finally jumping upwards and swinging the Tetsusaiga downwards in a massive downwards blow.

Naraku raised the sphere of energy up to meet her blow, and it clashed with the blade with a massive groan of energy. Like the calm before the storm, everything seemed to stop around them, Kagome's blade pushing against the dark power as it pushed back; the two forces locked together in a physical manifestation of the raging battle of the Shikon. Then,

"_Bakaryuuha!"_ Kagome called out the devastating return attack of the Tetsusaiga.

Golden tendrils of energy, twined with smaller ones of brilliant pink miko energy swarmed forward from the blade, and dodged the dark energy, piercing Kisame's form in several locations. The Tetsusaiga pulsed and pushed forwards, cleaving the ball of energy in half and instantly dispersing it. Naraku screamed, Kisame screamed, and Kagome screamed, their voices mingling together with the near-tangible screech of purification as Kagome reached a free hand forward, and grabbed Kisame's face. Her powers reached where her hand could not, drawing Naraku's malevolent power out of Kisame's body and back into her own, and finally, the brilliant glow of pink and gold that surrounded their forms dispersed.

Kagome collapsed against Kisame's body and the two of them tumbled backwards, Kagome landing bonelessly on Kisame's chest. Tetsusaiga fell from her hand, and glowed briefly before disappearing as it hit the ground. Kisame remained unconscious even as he hit the ground, the fall not stirring his mind. Wearily, Kagome pulled herself up his body to her face, where she placed a trembling hand on his cheek.

Exhausted beyond words, Kagome summoned the last vestiges of her power to the forefront of Kisame's mind, and let it delve into his body, healing all the wounds Naraku's dark power had left behind. She hovered weakly above his body for several long seconds, before Kagome, energy depleted and exhausted, collapsed atop him, finally unconscious.

* * *

Kisame's consciousness stirred. He was in the strange stage between being awake and asleep, he suspected. If he wanted to, he knew he could easily slip back into sleep… but there was a strange sense of urgency in the back of his mind that made him second guess his next action.

The sensation was the strangest thing he'd ever experienced. He was conscious of the fact that his body was not his own- there was an unfamiliar presence in his mind. He strained to see what it was; to make sense of the feeling he was experiencing, but it couldn't seem to summon the strength to reach up and figure it out. The presence, while unfamiliar, seemed falsely comforting, and Kisame had the sudden strange visualisation of being trapped far under water, the surface glinting somewhere up above him, the dark depths beneath him calling out, temptingly. But the sensation… the anxious feeling somewhere in the back of his mind…

It was like fighting to keep his head above water; the undertow threatening to drag him down, the waves beating at him relentlessly. A sharp beam of sunlight cut through the darkness of the water, and suddenly, Kisame could see the surface. Kagome's voice echoed, muted by the water pressing at his ears, and he remembered.

The anxious feeling returned with new vigour, and a clenching worry in his chest spurred him to renew his struggle, to force away the eerie soothing sensation of that presence in his mind, to fight, to swim…

_Kagome…_

He was drowning…

Drowning…

_Kagome!_

Kisame forced his head above the water in time to see Kagome's form silhouetted against the bright light, before the presence left him and a natural darkness claimed him.

* * *

"Hey, you stupid fish-face," Kagome's voice greeted him weakly. "Glad to see you're still alive and kicking."

Kisame blinked wearily, looking around. They were in the clearing where they'd run into those two Konoha brats… Itachi was lying, still asleep, several feet off to the side. Kagome was kneeling before him, and Kisame realized with an odd tingle somewhere in the pit of his stomach that his head was pillowed on her lap.

"What…" Kisame swallowed, his voice dry. The last thing he needed was for his voice to crack. _How embarrassing. _"What the fuck happened?"

"I can't tell you that…" Kagome winced, instead smoothing his hair back from his forehead. Her hands were cool and soothing, and Kisame secretly enjoyed the small gesture even though outwardly, he scowled.

"What I can tell you, is that I carry a special burden, of sorts. It's my responsibility to stop that evil power from emerging so that the events of tonight aren't repeated. It's the same reason why people are inexplicably drawn to me, why I have the ability of purification and the unique power you've witnessed on several occasions… and why I'm able to sense dark, demonic energies." Kagome said softly, carding her fingers through Kisame's short hair as she spoke. He let out a small satisfied sigh, his eyes slipping closed.

Kisame began his mouth to say something, but Kagome shushed him, cutting him off before he had the chance to speak. "It's also why I can't remain with you and Itachi… the balance I maintain is thrown and in jeopardy when I'm with you."

Kagome looked off to the rising sun for a moment before looking back to Kisame, her hand slowly stilling. "It's why I have to leave."

Kisame's eyes snapped open, and he pulled away from her abruptly, sitting upright and fighting off the sudden bloodrush.

"_It's why I have to leave…"_

Emotions, a riptide of feelings surged through him with those words. Curiosity, confusion, anger, hurt, and a strange, foreign feeling beneath them all that warmed his chest as he focused his attention on it. Memories of Kagome brought a smile to his face, and warmed something inside of him that he really hadn't given much thought to for such a long, long time. Realizing with growing trepidation that this feeling had been growing for a much longer time than he'd been aware of it; that he'd been fighting it for days now, he connected it with a sardonic grin and irony to the strange sensation he'd felt not too long ago.

_He was drowning… Drowning…_

Kagome's face, her voice, her power, her memory… it had pulled him from the strange lull of that dark power. It had saved him from drowning. But whether it was being pulled down into the darkness, or simply giving the tides control… It was the principal of drowning; the sweet temptation of giving in, the release of letting the water carry you away.

With a start, he turned to face Kagome, who was looking sadly into her lap. He grabbed her hand and tugged her forward in a surprising instant, smoothly curling her into _his_ lap, and tucking her head under his chin before squeezing her desperately into himself.

_Don't…_ he couldn't bring himself to say the words. He couldn't bring himself to plead… _Don't leave, don't go away._

Kagome, against her will, trembled as she felt Kisame wrap his arms around her in a steely grip. _I'd forgotten what it feels like,_ she mused, allowing him to tuck her face into his chest as he entirely surrounded her, and she greedily absorbed the comfort and warmth that he offered as she closed her eyes and breathed in. _I could have loved you, some time… some where._

As Kagome's delicate hands lifted to place themselves on his chest, Kisame realized with a start that his cloak and top were gone. For the second time that day, he felt his face heat as her fingers traced lightly across his chest. Looking down, he noted that her eyes were shut in contemplation, but she willingly curled into him as he held her.

"…Kagome…" his voice was low, hesitant and searching, and Kagome obligingly opened her eyes and looked up at him, unable to keep the apology and bittersweet longing from her face.

The sight of the sadness and regret on her face made him angry beyond words, and the unabashed longing prompted an overwhelming sense of possession. "No." was his only response, before he wrapped his own fingers in her hair, and pulled her up to meet him.

It was a bruising, possessive, sloppy kiss… Kisame hadn't gone around kissing people before now, but he had to do something, _anything_, to let her know all the things he couldn't say, and tell her all the things he felt. And slowly, he felt Kagome's hands creep up to his face, one hand cupping his cheek and the other tangling in his hair at the back of his neck as she returned the kiss with equal ferocity and fire.

Finally, when the fire burned away and it was just soft exploration, Kisame pulled back and rested his forehead against Kagome's. Her hands stroked the back of his neck, the sides of his face, pulling softly at his hair; anywhere they could pet so she could _feel_ him, anything so she'd _remember._

"I…" Kisame trailed off, frustrated and yearningly sad.

"If you wait for me, I'll come back." Kagome said softly. "When this burden is no longer mine to bear… I'll come back to you."

Kisame was quiet a long time, his eyes closed, one hand around Kagome's waist and delighting in the feel of her body, the other gently playing with the hair at the nape of her neck. When words failed him, he kissed her again and again and again, exploring her mouth and the curve of her neck and listening to her breathy sighs… anything so he'd _remember._

"You'd better," he threatened finally, as she pulled away and sat back on her knees. "One day, I'm gonna learn _all_ your secrets." He grinned slyly, thumbing the scar on the inside of her arm that he'd given her the night he'd been forced to cauterize her wound.

"One day," Kagome nodded, smiling softly. "I promise."

Leaning forwards, she pressed a kiss to his temple, gently depositing his headband in his free hand, which had come off sometime earlier during the confrontation with Naraku.

"Kagome, I—" Kisame looked to her suddenly, beginning to say something, but a gentle tap on his forehead sent him into a gentle sleep. Kagome lay him down beside his partner, satisfied that neither would wake up before she was far enough away that they wouldn't be able to find her.

The words that Kisame almost said would haunt her until she was free to be with him again, and Kagome forced her guilt away as she shouldered her pack. _I can't be with him now._Kagome thought to herself. _Not yet… but soon._ Looking to the early morning sun, Kagome inhaled deeply. She turned to look back at the sleeping forms of Itachi and Kisame, but stopped herself mid-turn. Shaking her head with a soft smile, Kagome disappeared into the gentle shadows of the morning, leaving the forest, Itachi, and Kisame behind.

"See you later, fish-face."

She needed _something_ to look forward to, after all.

**fin.**


End file.
